North Kent News

Sparta Area Schools issued the following announcement.

Eighth-grader Lala Wolford said she’s been inspired while exploring careers with an online tool the district rolled out for student use this year. 

“One of them was at NASA,” Lala said. “I’ve always been interested in astronomy and astrophysics, and when I saw these on Mavin I got really excited to learn more about a job 

I’ve been interested in,” she said. “And it is very helpful to know what they are looking for in that job, whether it’s what degree you need or if they are looking for a determined 

person.” 

The district is piloting the use of Mavin, an online program for students in grades 6 through 12 to explore careers and for administrators to keep tabs on student mental health — 

both for in-person and distance learners.

Exploring Opportunities                                                                                         

Every day there is a short description of a job students may not have considered

Students log in daily to read and answer questions about a career topic. Even those already settled on a career, like junior Ava Case and senior Alex Bennett, understand the 

overall benefit.

“I do think it is cool that it has actual companies, and I know it inspires some students,” said Alex, who has her sights set on attending Ferris State University to work toward a 

career in graphic design.     

“I haven’t found much about writing,” said Ava, who aspires to a career as an author or in journalism, “but there have been some cool jobs, like for Twitter or Spotify.”

Eighth-grader Owen Fisk said he really enjoys the career piece of Mavin.  “I have found a lot of careers that appeal to me and jobs that appeal to me,” he said, adding that he and 

his friends often talk about jobs they read about on the site.

Sparta High School counselor Teresa Converse said the career exploration piece of Mavin is intended to “continue conservation. The idea is to help kids explore careers they might 

have interest in,” she said.

The localization of the online program is what impresses Converse. 

“It is important that some of our students that have roots here continue to grow this community,” she said. “This helps explore careers and work nearby, like Armock, Cascade Die 

and the graphics places. The students can find internships that can grow into good careers, and can find out more about opportunities bordering this area.”

Mavin uses emojis to help students identity emotions they are experiencing

Emotional Check-ins

Keeping tabs on student emotional health has long been a challenge for school staff, said Sparta Superintendent Pete Bush. 

Students are required to log onto Mavin every day: first up is a one-word list of emotions represented by emojis. They choose the one that most closely resembles how they feel at 

that moment, then rate the intensity on a scale of 1 to 10.

Counselors at Sparta check the results two to three times a week, and Converse said many students have wanted to talk about COVID, but wouldn’t necessarily start the 

conversation; at times staff has found out that a student’s family member has died with COVID but wouldn’t bring it up without being approached.

“It definitely gives us a chance to open conversations,” she said. 

Layla really likes the daily check. “In school, I don’t really worry about my feelings because I’m busy doing school work, but filling the emotional piece helps me see how I am doing. 

And if someone came to talk to me about my answer, I wouldn’t mind. For example, if I was sad it is nice to get things off my chest and talk to someone.”

Ava said she was once pulled out of class to talk. “I was going through a rough patch and it was fine,” she said. “Usually if I am upset it is because of my anxiety, and I know it 

already. So I don’t find it personally helpful, but it might be good for someone who needs to figure out how they are feeling.”

Mavin facilitator John Kraus, who is instructional director at Muskegon ISD, said there are huge advantages to assessing daily mental health of students, and that it has prompted 

administrators to intervene in serious student mental health crises. 

Northview High counselor Sarah Gammans calls the tracker “an early warning system,” and called the response from students “tremendous.”

Original source can be found here.